Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies (Crisp Edges, Soft Centers)

By Warm Oven Bakes Editorial Team · Updated 1 November 2026

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Everyone has a favorite style of chocolate chip cookie. This recipe is for the chewy camp: crisp, golden edges, soft and bendy centers, and lots of melted chocolate.

These chewy chocolate chip cookies use a few simple tricks that bakers rely on. Melted butter, more brown sugar than white, an extra egg yolk, and a short rest in the fridge.

Why these cookies turn out chewy

Melted butter. Creaming soft butter with sugar whips in air, which makes cookies cakey. Melted butter makes them denser and chewier.

More brown sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses, which holds moisture. More moisture means a softer, chewier cookie with caramel notes.

An extra yolk. Yolks add fat and richness without extra egg white, which would make cookies puffier.

Chilling the dough. A rest of at least 30 minutes lets the flour hydrate and the butter firm up. The cookies spread less and the flavor deepens.

Ingredients

Makes about 18 large cookies:

• 3/4 cup (170 g) unsalted butter
• 1 cup (200 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup (100 g) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups (280 g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cornstarch
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups (255 g) chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
• Flaky sea salt for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Melt the butter. Melt it in a saucepan or microwave. For extra flavor, let it cook on the stove until it turns golden and smells nutty (brown butter). Let it cool for 10 minutes.
2. Mix sugars and butter. In a large bowl, whisk the warm butter with both sugars for about 1 minute, until smooth and glossy.
3. Add eggs. Whisk in the egg, yolk and vanilla until the mixture lightens slightly in color.
4. Add dry ingredients. Add the flour, baking soda, cornstarch and salt. Stir with a spatula until just combined.
5. Add chocolate. Fold in the chocolate.
6. Chill. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, up to 72 hours. Longer chilling gives richer, toffee-like flavor.
7. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line two baking sheets with parchment.
8. Scoop. Scoop 3-tablespoon balls of dough, about 2 inches apart. Leave them tall rather than flattening.
9. Bake 10 to 12 minutes, until the edges are golden and set but the centers look slightly underdone.
10. Finish. Sprinkle with flaky salt right away. Leave them on the pan for 5 minutes to finish setting, then move to a rack.

The key: underbake slightly

This is the most important step. Take the cookies out when the centers still look puffy and a little soft. They keep cooking on the hot pan. If they look fully done in the oven, they'll be crunchy once cool.

Tips for bakery-style cookies

Use chopped chocolate. Chopped bars melt into pools and streaks. Chips hold their shape. A mix of both looks great.

Weigh your flour. Too much flour makes thick, dry cookies that don't spread. 280 g is the target.

Bang the pan. For rippled edges, lift the pan a few inches and drop it on the oven rack halfway through baking, and again right after.

Scoot them round. Right out of the oven, put a round cookie cutter or glass over each cookie and swirl it to shape the edges into a perfect circle.

Troubleshooting

• Cookies spread too much: the butter was too warm or the dough wasn't chilled. Chill longer.
• Cookies are cakey: too much flour, or the butter was creamed instead of melted.
• Cookies are flat and greasy: check that your baking soda is fresh, and measure the butter carefully.
• Bottoms are too dark: use a light-colored baking sheet and parchment. Dark pans brown faster.

Freezing cookie dough

Scoop the dough into balls and freeze them on a tray. Move them to a freezer bag and keep up to 3 months. Bake straight from frozen, adding 1 to 2 minutes. It's an easy way to have fresh cookies any night.

Baked cookies keep in an airtight container for 4 to 5 days. A slice of bread in the container helps keep them soft.

More sweet bakes

If you have spotty bananas on the counter, this moist banana bread is another easy one-bowl bake. For a holiday twist, try our snickerdoodle cookies or soft gingerbread cookies. And if you want to try bread baking, this easy no-knead bread is very forgiving for beginners.

Read next: Moist Banana Bread Recipe (One Bowl, No Mixer) →